Calabar High School
The Utmost for the Highest
Address
61 Red Hills Road Kingston, Jamaica Calabar High School
Coordinates	18°01′44″N 76°48′34″W / 18.0289037°N 76.8094218°W / 18.0289037; -76.8094218Coordinates: 18°01′44″N 76°48′34″W / 18.0289037°N 76.8094218°W / 18.0289037; -76.8094218
Information
Established	1912
School colour(s)	Green and Black

Calabar High School is a prominent all-male, secondary school in Kingston, Jamaica. It was established by the Jamaica Baptist Union in 1912 for the children of Baptist ministers and the children of the poor blacks and was named after the former slave port Calabar, now in Nigeria. Today, it is considered one of the finest schools in the country, producing at least five Rhodes Scholars.^[1]

History [edit]

Early beginnings

In 1839, William Knibb, Thomas Burchell and James Phillippo, the three leading English Baptist missionaries working in Jamaica, moved for the creation of a college for training native Baptist ministers. Out of this effort, Calabar Theological College came into being in 1843, sited in the little village of Calabar, near Rio Bueno, in Trelawny Parish. The town Calabar was named by the Spanish after a town in Nigeria of the same name.

In 1868, Calabar College was removed to East Queen Street, Kingston, where a "normal" school for training teachers and a high school for boys were added. Shortly afterwards, the high school was closed and the teacher-training activities ceased, leaving the practising school—now Calabar All-Age on Sutton Street—and the theological college, which was relocated at Studley Park (on Slipe Pen Road) in 1904.

High school established

At the beginning of the 1900s, there were very few high schools in existence to educate the sons of the working class and the rising middle class. It was to meet this need that, in September 1912, through the instrumentality of the Revs. Ernest Price and David Davidson—Principal and Tutor, respectively, of Calabar Theological College—Calabar High School came into existence under the joint sponsorship of the Baptist Missionary Society of London and the Jamaica Baptist Union.

The high school opened September 12, 1912, with 26 boys and the foundation was firmly laid in the Christian tradition. Rev. Price was the first headmaster. Within a year enrolment had reached 80 and the school had received government recognition. An early benefactor was Miss Elizabeth Purscell who, in 1919, bequeathed the adjoining property, on Studley Park Road, in trust for the school. The school offered boarding facilities on nearby premises —the Hostel— to facilitate boys attending from outside the Corporate Area of Kingston.

Relocation

In 1952, Calabar Theological College and Calabar High School moved from their location at Studley Park to Red Hills Road, where 60 acres (240,000 m²) of land (then called "Industry Pen") had been purchased for the re-siting of both institutions. At the time, this was a thinly populated, undeveloped area and many people thought the move unwise. The new school was built to house 350 boys but before long extensions became necessary. Boarding facilities were provided up to 1970. When boarding ceased, dormitories were converted to workshops.

In 1967 the Theological College moved to Mona as a part of the United Theological College of the West Indies and the High School took over the vacated space. This is the section of the premises which the boys now call "Long Island."

At about this time a portion of the Calabar lands was sold, to be used for commercial and residential development. A privately run Extension School was added in 1971.

In 1978, the school adopted a shift system incorporating the day and extension schools, at the request of the Ministry of Education. There are over 1600 students on roll with eight forms in each year group between grades 7 and 11, and four forms in grades 12 and 13 (sixth form).

Accomplishments

Major scholarships —such as the Jamaica and Rhodes Scholarships— have been awarded to Calabar students. Sports, particularly athletics, have always been important and the Inter-Schools’ Athletics Championships (“Champs”) Trophy has been won 23 times since 1930.

One major accomplishment is in the Schools' Challenge Quiz, where Calabar is the only school to win the competition three years in a row, and has been to the most finals in one decade, six (2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2012).

Insignia [edit]

Motto

The school motto is "The Utmost for the Highest".

Colours

The official school colours are green and black.

Mascot

The school's mascot is a roaring lion, a homage to the school being named after the Nigeria city and former slave port of the same name.

Extracurricular activities [edit]

In sports the school dominates all major sporting areas including track and field, football, basketball, cricket, badminton, and rugby. Calabar was the first school in Jamaica to have a swimming pool and won the inter-schools swimming competition repeatedly for many years. When the school was relocated to Red Hills Road in 1953, the boys helped to construct the new pool there. At the Annual Boys and Girls Athletics Championships, the competition for which the school is most famous,^{[citation needed]} Calabar is the only boys school to have won Champs titles in every decade since the 1930s.^{[citation needed]}

2007 Boys Athletics Championships winners with their coach, oldboy Michael Clarke.

In 2012, the school won both School Challenge Quiz and the all-island Boys Athletics Championships title (its 22nd overall).^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, the school Rugby Union team created history by placing for the first time a team in the finals of all four competitions entered. The boys won the Under-19 15-a-side competition for the second time in school's history and were runners-up in the under 16 version. The team was coached by old boys Sheldon Phillips and Romeo Monteith with Nesta Dawkins as manager.

In Rugby Football the school became the first to win the U19 15s championship 3 consecutive years (2008–2010). The school also won the inaugural U16 Rugby League championship in 2009.

The winning School's Challenge Quiz Team of 2004 pose with Herb McKenley.

Calabar students celebrating after another quiz triumph.

Calabar is the only school to have won the popular School's Challenge Quiz on three consecutive occasions.

Notable alumni [edit]

Calabar has produced a number of prominent members of Jamaican society including:

Academia

• Sir Phillip Sherlock, former Vice-Chancellor and founding father of the University of the West Indies
• Prof. Leslie Robinson, former Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies
• Prof. Errol Miller, Head of the Department of Education at the University of the West Indies
• Dr. Norman Girvan, former Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States
• Dr. Simon Clarke, former UNESCO representative and Chairman of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica
• Dr. Franklyn Prendergast, Director of the Mayo Clinic's Comprehensive Cancer Research Center in Rochester, Minnesota

Arts and culture

• Vybz Kartel,
• Carl Abrahams, painter
• John Holt,
• Ken Boothe,
• Baby Cham,
• Michael Sharpe, news editor at Television Jamaica,
• Roger Mais, writer
• Wilmot Perkins, talk show host
• Patrick Anderson, sports director at Television Jamaica

Business and finance

• Paul Geddes, co-founder of the Red Stripe beer brand.
• Claude Robinson, former general manager, Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation

Clergy

• Rev. Hugh Sherlock, author of Jamaica's National Anthem
• Rev. Horace Russell, former principal of the United Theological College of the West Indies
• Rev. Dr. Howard Gregory, former president, Jamaica Council of Churches
• Rev. Stephen Jennings, president of the Jamaica Baptist Union
• Rev. Karl Henlin, former president of the Jamaica Baptist Union and vice president of the Caribbean Baptist Fellowship

Politics and law

• Percival James Patterson, former Prime Minister of Jamaica
• Derrick Smith, Minister of Mining and Technology
• Basil Buck, former Executive Chairman of Buck Securities and Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance
• John Junor, former Minister of Health
• Arnold Bertram, former Minister of Local Government
• Derrick Kellier, former Minister of Labour and Social Security
• Colin Campbell, former Minister of Information and Development
• Dr. Percy Broderick, former Minister of Agriculture
• Dr. Lloyd Barnett, former president of the Jamaica Bar Association and chairman of the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights
• Francis Forbes, former Commissioner of Police
• E.G. Green, former Parliamentary Ombudsman
• Carrington Mahoney, former deputy director of the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
• His Excellency Paul Robotham, Jamaican Ambassador to Japan
• Justice Chester Orr, former High Court Judge
• Justice Alvin B. Edwards, former Supreme Court Judge

Sports

• Mike Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation and the Jamaica Olympic Association
• Dennis Johnson, former UTECH Sports Administrator (and former world record holder at 100 yards)
• Arthur Wint, Olympic Gold Medallist runner and former world record holder
• Chris Stokes and Dudley Stokes members of the Jamaican Bobsled Team that inspired the movie Cool Runnings
• George Rhoden, Olympic Gold Medalist runner
• Herb McKenley, Olympic Gold Medalist sprinter and former world record holder
• Nehemiah Perry, former Jamaican cricketer and West Indies Cricket Board selector
• Maurice Smith, decathlete, World Championship Silver Medallist
• Maurice Wignall, Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist
• Dwight Thomas, Olympic Gold Medalist
• Ajani Williams, former NBA player and president of the Jamaica Basketball Association
• Warren Weir Olympic Bronze Medalist
• Andrew Riley Olympic Hurdler
• Jason Morgan Olympic discus thrower
• Josef Robertson Olympic Hurdler

Principals [edit]

See also [edit]

• Jamaica High School Football Champions
• Education in Jamaica
• List of schools in Jamaica
• Principal from 1959 to 1961 Sydney Thomson

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Aerial view.
• Photos:
• Calabar Lions (community website and blog)
• Calabar Old Boys Association
• Calabar Old Boys Association (Toronto Chapter)
• Calabar Old Boys Association (Atlanta Chapter)
• Calabar Old Boys Association (UK Chapter)
• RabalacPlace (for collectors items and school paraphernalia )
• Jamaica Baptist Union